WO2015110005A1 - Television program image frame capturing device, television program image frame obtaining device, system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a television program image frame capturing device, an obtaining device, a system, and a method. The television program image frame capturing device comprises: an image frame buffer module, which is configured to buffer multiple image frames of a television program; a communication module, which is configured to receive a request from an external device for capturing an image frame, wherein the request comprises information indicating request sending time; a time calibration module, which is configured to determine time of the image frame to be captured based on a time difference between the television program image frame capturing device and the external device and the information comprised in the request for indicating the request sending time; and an image frame extraction module, which is configured to extract the image frame corresponding to the time determined by the time calibration module from the image frame buffer module. The time calibration module can also be arranged in the television program image frame capturing device. According to the devices, the system and the method of the present invention, television screenshot images can be captured accurately, without restricting the use of a user.

Description

Television program image frame capturing device, television program image frame acquiring device, system and method Technical field

The invention relates to an image frame capturing device, a television program image frame acquiring device, a system and a method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device, a user terminal, a system and method including such a device and a user terminal capable of accurately capturing an image frame in accordance with a user indication.

Background technique

Currently, television receivers have been developed to provide increasingly complex functions to meet the various needs of users. For example, upon receiving a command from a user terminal, the television receiver can intercept an image of the television program currently being played and then transmit it to the user terminal. In this way, the user can use the image when discussing the television program with other friends using the user terminal. In addition, when the user sees the image of interest while watching the television program and needs to save, the command can be sent to the television receiver and the desired image can be received from the television receiver.

In Patent Document 1, a method and system for obtaining a screen shot picture of a television program are disclosed. The method stores a screen shot picture of a television program in a server, and the user operates the terminal when it is necessary to acquire a screen shot picture of the television program during the watching of the television. The terminal obtains the screenshot of the TV program at the moment from the server, thereby facilitating the user to communicate with other users on the SNS community, thereby improving the user experience of the user.

In Patent Document 2, an image processing apparatus and a user terminal device are disclosed, the image processing apparatus including: an image processing unit that processes an image signal; a display unit that displays the processed image; a user interface unit that receives a user who captures an image a screen capture unit that captures an image frame according to a user command; a storage unit that stores an image frame captured by the screen capture unit; and a control unit that controls the screen capture unit to capture an image frame that includes a point in time corresponding to the input of the user command Multiple image frames within.

However, the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires a server to be arranged in a network, which is responsible for continuously capturing an image of a television. The terminal acquires an image of the television from the server. Due to the continuous transmission of image data between the server and the TV, the network is heavily loaded. In addition, the system architecture does not work in real time. When the user wants to capture the current screenshot of the TV, the terminal When a request is sent to the server, the server cannot immediately get the current screen capture image from the TV. In addition, this method does not consider the case where there are multiple televisions. If you have more than one TV, you will need multiple servers. If only one server is used, the server requires additional operations to identify different TV sets. Whether adding servers or providing additional functionality to the server will increase costs.

The image processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is capable of capturing an image frame corresponding to a point in time at which a user command is input. However, the point in time at which the device recognizes the input of a user command may not be accurate enough. Moreover, this solution does not consider the case where there are multiple TVs.

Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus and method that is capable of accurately capturing image frames in accordance with user instructions.

Patent literature:

(1) Chinese patent application CN201110363349.8, April 18, 2012;

(2) European Patent Application EP11192649.9, June 13, 2012.

Summary of the invention

As described above, the existing television screen capture image capture scheme has some problems and it is difficult to provide a good user experience.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an apparatus and method capable of accurately capturing a television screen shot image according to a user's instruction, and capable of accurately capturing a television screen shot image without restricting the use of the user.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a television program image frame capture device is provided, comprising:

An image frame buffer module configured to buffer a plurality of image frames of a television program;

a communication module configured to receive a request to capture an image frame from an external device, the request including information indicating a request transmission time;

a time calibration module configured to determine a time of an image frame to be extracted according to a time difference between the television program image frame capture device and an external device and information indicating a request transmission time included in the request;

An image frame extraction module is configured to extract an image frame corresponding to the time determined by the time alignment module from the image frame buffer module.

Advantageously, the time alignment module is further configured to perform a calibration process with the external device to determine a time difference between the television program image frame capture device and the external device.

Preferably, the calibration process comprises:

The frame image capturing apparatus television program sending a message to the external device, the message comprising a time stamp indication message sending time T _1,

The external device adds a timestamp T ₂ to the message when receiving the message,

The external device when the timestamp T ₃ of the apparatus a feedback message to capture an image frame of the television program,

The television program image frame capture device adds a timestamp T ₄ when receiving the feedback message,

The time calibration module determines that the time difference between the television program image frame capture device and the external device is ((T ₂ -T ₁ )+(T ₃ -T ₄ ))/2.

Preferably, the time determined by the time calibration module includes a start time and an end time, and the image frame extraction module includes an extracted image frame determination module configured to determine a difference between the start time and the end time As the length of time of the image frame to be extracted, if the length of time is less than a predetermined threshold, determining that the image frame to be extracted is an image frame corresponding to the start time in the image frame buffer module; Determining that the image frame to be extracted includes a plurality of image frames corresponding to the start time in the image frame buffer module to an image frame corresponding to the end time, the length of time is not less than the predetermined threshold Image frame.

Advantageously, the television program image frame capture device further comprises a signal decoding module configured to decode data of the television program and to buffer the decoded data in the image frame buffer module in the form of an image frame.

Advantageously, the communication module is further configured to broadcast information identifying the television program image frame capture device when the television program image frame capture device is powered on.

Advantageously, the communication module is further configured to, upon receiving a search request from the external device, feed back information identifying the television program image frame capture device to the external device.

Preferably, the request for the captured image frame received by the communication module from the external device further includes information indicating the television program image frame capture device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a television program image frame capture system is provided The television program image frame capturing device; and an external device configured to transmit a request for capturing an image frame to the television program image frame capturing device, the request including information indicating a request transmission time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a television program image frame acquiring apparatus includes:

a user interface module configured to receive an image frame acquisition request input by the user, and determine a time when the image frame acquisition request is received;

a time calibration module configured to determine an image to be captured on the television program player based on a time difference between the television program image frame acquisition device and the television program player and a time at which the image frame acquisition request is received The time of the frame;

A communication module configured to send a request to the television program player to capture an image frame, the request including information indicating a time of the determined image frame to be captured.

Advantageously, the time alignment module is further configured to perform a calibration process with the television program player to determine a time difference between the television program image frame acquisition device and the television program player.

Preferably, the calibration process comprises:

The television program image acquisition device to send a message frame to the TV program player, said message comprising a time stamp indication message sending time T _1,

The television program player adds a timestamp T ₂ to the message upon receiving the message,

The TV program player timestamp T ₃ when the apparatus a feedback frame acquiring the message to the television program image,

The television program image frame acquiring device adds a time stamp T ₄ when receiving the feedback message,

The time calibration module determines that the time difference between the television program image frame acquiring device and the television program player is ((T ₂ -T ₁ )+(T ₃ -T ₄ ))/2.

Preferably, the user interface module is further configured to: determine a start time and an end time of the image frame acquisition request input by the user as the time when the image frame acquisition request is received.

Advantageously, the communication module is further configured to receive information identifying the television program player from the at least one television program player.

Preferably, the information identifying the television program player is responsive to the communication mode The block was received while broadcasting the search request.

Preferably, the request to capture an image frame further includes information indicating a television program player as a capture target.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a television program image frame capture system is provided, including:

The above television program image frame acquiring device;

TV show player, including:

An image frame buffer module configured to buffer a plurality of image frames of a television program;

a communication module configured to receive a request to capture an image frame from the television program image frame acquisition device, the request including information indicating a time of an image frame to be captured;

An image frame extraction module configured to extract an image frame corresponding to a time of an image frame to be captured from the image frame buffer module;

The communication module of the television program player transmits the extracted image frame to the television program image frame acquisition device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a method for performing in a television program image frame capture device, comprising:

Cache multiple image frames of a television program;

Receiving a request to capture an image frame from an external device, the request including information indicating a time of request to send;

Determining a time of an image frame to be extracted according to a time difference between the television program image frame capturing device and the external device and information indicating a request transmission time included in the request;

An image frame corresponding to the determined time of the image frame to be extracted is extracted from the buffered plurality of image frames.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a method for performing in a television program image frame acquiring device, comprising:

Receiving an image frame acquisition request input by the user, determining a time when the image frame acquisition request is received;

Obtaining time between the device and the television program player according to the television program image frame a difference and a time at which the image frame acquisition request is received, determining a time of an image frame to be captured on the television program player;

A request to capture an image frame is transmitted to the television program player, the request including information indicating a time of the determined image frame to be captured.

According to the television program image frame capturing apparatus, the acquiring apparatus, and the method of the present invention, it is possible to accurately capture/acquire an image frame of a television program desired by the user. Furthermore, the present invention contemplates the presence of multiple television program players and eliminates the need to introduce additional equipment, reducing network burden and cost.

DRAWINGS

Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description. Moreover, the advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

1 is a schematic diagram showing an image frame capture system 1000 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic diagram showing an image frame capture system 2000 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the operation of the time calibration module 1120 according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

4 shows a schematic diagram of the operation of the time calibration module 2220 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation of determining an image frame to be extracted according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

6 shows a schematic diagram of a situation in which a plurality of television program players exist in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates another schematic diagram of a situation in which a plurality of television program players exist in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a television program image frame capturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a method of acquiring a television program image frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of illustrative examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same components.

The invention provides a television program image frame capturing method and system. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an image frame capture system 1000 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image frame capture system 1000 includes a television program player 1100 and a user terminal 1200. The television program player 1100 plays the television program for the user to watch. The user can input his or her request through the user terminal 1200 while watching the television program. The television program player 1100 and the user terminal 1200 can communicate by wire or wirelessly. The television program player 1100 may include a communication module 1110, a time calibration module 1120, an image frame extraction module 1130, and an image frame buffer module 1140. The television receiver 1100 may also include other modules for performing conventional television program playback, such as signal decoding module 1150. The user terminal 1200 can include a communication module 1210, a user interface module 1220, and a display module 1230.

User terminal 1200 can be, for example, a smart phone, a tablet PC, a desktop PC, a computer, or the like. The user can input a request to the user terminal 1200 through the user interface module 1220, such as pressing a particular button, clicking a mouse, touching a display screen, or the like. After receiving the request, the communication module 1210 of the user terminal 1200 transmits a request to capture the image frame to the television program player 1100 over the network. The request contains information indicating the request transmission time T _s . The communication module 1110 that receives the request to capture the image frame transmits information indicating the time T _s to the time calibration module 1120. The time calibration module 1120 determines the request transmission time T _e =T _s -T _d on the time base of the television program player according to the time difference T _d and the time T _s between the television program player 1100 and the user terminal 1200, that is, The time of the extracted image frame. The image frame extraction module 1130 extracts an image frame corresponding to the time of the image frame to be extracted determined by the time alignment module 1120 from the image frame buffer module 1140 that buffers the image frame of the played television program. The signal decoding module 1150 decodes the analog or digital data of the television program while playing the television program, and buffers the decoded data in the image frame buffer module 1140 in the form of an image frame.

The communication module 1110 then transmits the extracted image frame to the user terminal 1200. User terminal 1200 can display the received image frame on display module 1230.

A television program player according to an embodiment of the present invention may be a television, a computer, or a portable A computer, or even a mobile phone, that can play a television program and is capable of performing a corresponding operation.

2 is a schematic diagram showing an image frame capture system 2000 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The image frame capturing system 2000 according to the second embodiment of the present invention differs from the image frame capturing system 1000 according to the first embodiment only in the position of the time alignment module. In the image frame capture system 1000 according to the first embodiment, the television program player 1100 includes a time calibration module 1120. In the image capture system 2000 according to the second embodiment, the user terminal 2200 includes a time calibration module 2220. The communication module 2110, the image frame extraction module 2120, the image frame buffer module 2130, the signal decoding module 2140, and the communication module 2210 in the user terminal 2200 in the television program player 2100 of the image frame capture system 2000 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The user interface module 2230, the display module 2240, and the communication module 1110, the image frame extraction module 1130, the image frame buffer module 1140, the signal decoding module 1150, the communication module 1210, the user interface module 1220, and the display module according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The 1230 is functionally identical.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the operation of the time calibration module 1120 in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. During the calibration process, the television program player 1100 transmits a calibration message to the user terminal 1200 via the communication module 1110, the calibration message including the system timestamp T _{1 of the} television receiver. Then, when receiving the calibration message, the user terminal 1200 adds the system timestamp T _{2 of the} user terminal to the calibration message. When the user terminal 1200 to complete the calibration process calibration message back to the TV program player message 1100, its timestamp T _3. The television program player 1100 immediately adds a new time stamp T ₄ upon receiving the feedback calibration message. Then, the time calibration module 1120 can calculate the time difference between the television program player 1100 and the user terminal 1200 as: T _d = ((T _{2 -} T ₁ ) + (T _{3 -} T ₄ ))/2.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the operation of the time calibration module 2220 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention. The operation of the time calibration module 2220 is the same as that of the time calibration module 1120. Specifically, first, a calibration message including the system timestamp T ₁ of the user terminal is transmitted from the user terminal 2200 to the television program player 2100. When the television program player 2100 receives the calibration message, it adds the system time stamp T _{2 of the} television receiver to the calibration message. After the television program broadcast message 2100 calibration the calibration process is completed when the message back to the user terminal 2200, its timestamp T _3. The user terminal 2200 immediately adds a new timestamp T ₄ upon receiving the feedback calibration message. The time calibration module 2220 can then calculate the time difference between the user terminal 2200 and the television program player 2100 as: T _d = ((T _{2 -} T ₁ ) + (T _{3 -} T ₄ ))/2.

Referring back to FIG. 2, in the image frame capture system 2000 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the user interface module 2230 receives an image frame acquisition input by the user when, for example, the user presses a specific button, clicks a mouse, touches a display screen, or the like. Request and determine the current time, which is the time at which the image frame acquisition request was received. The time calibration module 2220 determines the request transmission time T _e =T _s -T _d on the time base of the television program player according to the time difference T _d between the user terminal 2200 and the television program player 2100 and the request transmission time T _s . That is the time of the image frame to be extracted. The time calibration module 2220 then transmits the determined request transmission time T _e to the communication module 2210, which then transmits a request to the television program player 2100 to capture the image frame over the network, the request including the indication of the determined request transmission time. T _e information. The communication module 2110 that received the request forwards the request to the image frame extraction module 2120. The image frame extraction module 2120 extracts an image frame corresponding to the request transmission time T _e included in the request from the image frame buffer module 2130 that buffers the image frame of the played program. The signal decoding module 2140 decodes the analog or digital data of the television program and buffers the decoded data in the image frame buffer module 2130 in the form of an image frame. The communication module 2110 then transmits the extracted image frame to the user terminal 1200. User terminal 1200 can display the received image frame on display module 2240.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by setting a time calibration module in an image frame capture system, the time offset between the television receiver and the user terminal can be eliminated whether the time calibration module is placed on the television receiver or on the user terminal. Thereby improving the accuracy of capturing the image frame desired by the user.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the time calibration module may perform a calibration process at startup or periodically, otherwise perform a calibration process, and then store the determined time difference for use in subsequent operations.

In the image frame capturing system according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the user inputs a request through the user interface module, and an image frame when the user presses the request in the television program played on the television program player can be obtained.

According to one example, the request entered by the user interface module can be a single screen shot command, i.e., a request to capture a current image frame, or a continuous screen capture command, i.e., a request to capture a plurality of consecutive image frames. For example, the user can press the command button on the user interface module at time T _{0 to} trigger the start of capturing the image frame and release the button at time T _{n to} end the capture of the image frame. In this example, the user interface module takes the start time and end time of the user input request as the time at which the request was received. Thus, the information indicating the request transmission time in the request received by the television program player indicates a period of time instead of a point in time. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, image frame extraction module 1130 can include an extracted image frame determination module 1132 configured to determine the length of the time period. If the length of the time period is less than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the image frame to be extracted is an image frame in the buffered image frame corresponding to the start time of the time period. And if the length of the time period is not less than the predetermined threshold, determining that the image frame to be extracted includes the image frame corresponding to the start time of the time period in the buffered image frame to the end time of the time period Multiple image frames of the corresponding image frame.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of an operation of determining an image frame to be extracted, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5, in a case where the time period T ₀ the user pressing the button and releasing the button at time T _n, the predetermined threshold is assumed to 800ms. If T _n -T ₀ <800ms, the image frame to be extracted is frame 0. If T _n -T ₀ >=800 ms, the image frame to be extracted includes N+1 image frames from frame 0 to frame N.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to operate in the presence of a plurality of television program players. FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a situation in which a plurality of television program players exist in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 6, it is assumed that there are N television program players. In this embodiment, the communication module of the user terminal broadcasts a search request as needed. The television program player receiving the search request will feed back a response message including its identification information, which may be, for example, the IP address of the television program player, the identifier id, the serial number, the manufacturer's information, the model, and the like. The user terminal receiving the response message can identify each television program player and include information of the television program player as the capture target in the subsequently transmitted image frame acquisition request. Accordingly, the television program player that received the image frame capture request will identify the television program player indicated in the request, and if it is itself, perform an image frame capture operation, if not, ignore the request.

FIG. 7 illustrates another schematic diagram of a situation in which multiple television program players exist in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 7, it is assumed that there are N television program players. In this embodiment The television program player broadcasts information identifying itself, such as the IP address of the television program player, the identifier id, the serial number, the manufacturer's information, the model, etc., periodically or when needed, for example, at power on. The user terminal receiving the identification information can identify each television program player and include information of the television program player as the capture target in the subsequently transmitted image frame acquisition request. Accordingly, the television program player that received the image frame capture request will identify the television program player indicated in the request, and if it is itself, perform an image frame capture operation, if not, ignore the request. With the user always keeping the user terminal powered on, with this embodiment, the user terminal does not need to frequently broadcast a search request to search for a television program player with which it can communicate. For example, the television program player transmits its identification information upon power on to inform the user terminal of its presence. In this way, the waste of resources can be reduced.

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a television program image frame capture method 800 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 8, the method begins when the television program player plays the television program. At step S810, a plurality of image frames of the played television program are buffered. Next, in step S820, a request to capture an image frame is received from the user terminal, the request including information indicating a request transmission time. In step S830, the time of the image frame to be extracted is determined according to the time difference between the television program image frame capturing device and the external device and the information indicating the request transmission time included in the request. Finally, in step S840, an image frame corresponding to the determined time of the image frame to be extracted is extracted from the buffered plurality of image frames.

In this way, it is possible to accurately capture an image frame that is played when a request to capture an image frame is issued. The captured image frame can be returned to the requesting user terminal for display on the user terminal.

In the method according to this embodiment, the television program player performing the method can perform a calibration process with the user terminal in advance to determine and save the time difference between the television program player and the user terminal for subsequent use.

If the received time is a period of time, the method further includes the step of determining a length of a time period of the image frame to be extracted, and if the length of the time period is less than a predetermined threshold, determining that the image frame to be extracted is the time An image frame corresponding to a start time of the segment; if the length is not less than the predetermined threshold, determining that the image frame to be extracted includes an image from the cached image frame corresponding to a start time of the time period Frames to a plurality of image frames of an image frame corresponding to an end time of the time period.

Before caching a plurality of image frames of the television program, the method further includes the steps of: decoding the data of the television program and buffering the decoded data in the form of image frames.

The method can also be applied to situations where there are multiple television program players. In this case, the television program player broadcasts its identification information when it is turned on, or feeds back its identification information to the user terminal when receiving a search request from the user terminal. The user terminal will include identification information of the television program player as the capture target in the request of the captured image frame it transmits.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of a television program image frame acquisition method 900 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the method begins when the user wants to capture the viewed image frame while watching the television program played by the television program player. In step S910, an image frame acquisition request input by the user is received through the user interface module, and the time at which the image frame acquisition request is received is determined. Next, in step S920, determining an image frame to be captured on the television program player according to a time difference between the television program image frame acquisition device and the television program player and a time when the image frame acquisition request is received. time. At step S930, a request to capture an image frame is transmitted to the television program player, the request including information indicating a time of the determined image frame to be captured.

A television program player that receives a request to capture an image frame may capture an image frame of the time supported in the request and feed back the captured image frame. In this way, image frames that are played on the television program player when a request to capture an image frame is issued can be accurately captured.

In the method according to this embodiment, the user terminal performing the method can perform a calibration process with the television program player in advance to determine and save the time difference between the user terminal and the television program player for subsequent use.

If the user wishes to capture a series of image frames, the request can be continuously entered. In this case, the determined time of receiving the image frame acquisition request includes determining a start time and an end time of the image frame acquisition request input by the user as the time at which the image frame acquisition request is received.

The method can also be applied to situations where there are multiple television program players. In this case, the user terminal can receive the identification information broadcast by the television program player to determine the television program player as the capture target. Or the user terminal broadcasts the search request and receives the feedback identification information from the plurality of television program players in response. The user terminal will include identification information of the television program player as the capture target in the request of the captured image frame it transmits.

Although the method according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, of course, the order between the steps of the above method is not necessarily limited as shown. Moreover, the method according to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above steps. Moreover, devices in accordance with embodiments of the invention are not limited to the structures shown, and may include additional modules. Moreover, the modules shown may be discrete modules or combined or separated into more modules in various ways.

While particular embodiments and applications of the invention have been shown and described, it is understood that the invention Various modifications, variations and changes obvious to those skilled in the art can be made in the configuration, operation and details of the method and system of the present invention disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. .

Claims (32)

1. A television program image frame capturing device, comprising:

   An image frame buffer module configured to buffer a plurality of image frames of a television program;

   a communication module configured to receive a request to capture an image frame from an external device, the request including information indicating a request transmission time;

   a time calibration module configured to determine a time of an image frame to be extracted according to a time difference between the television program image frame capture device and an external device and information indicating a request transmission time included in the request;

   An image frame extraction module is configured to extract an image frame corresponding to the time determined by the time alignment module from the image frame buffer module.
2. A television program image frame capture device according to claim 1, wherein said time alignment module is further configured to perform a calibration process with said external device to determine between said television program image frame capture device and said external device The time difference.
3. The television program image frame capture device of claim 2 wherein said calibration process comprises:

   The frame image capturing apparatus television program sending a message to the external device, the message comprising a time stamp indication message sending time T _1,

   The external device adds a timestamp T ₂ to the message when receiving the message,

   The external device when the timestamp T ₃ of the apparatus a feedback message to capture an image frame of the television program,

   The television program image frame capture device adds a timestamp T ₄ when receiving the feedback message,

   The time calibration module determines that the time difference between the television program image frame capture device and the external device is ((T ₂ -T ₁ )+(T ₃ -T ₄ ))/2.
4. A television program image frame capture device according to claim 1, wherein said time determined by said time alignment module comprises a start time and an end time, and said image frame extraction module comprises an extracted image frame determination module configured to determine a difference between the start time and the end time, as a length of time of an image frame to be extracted, if the time length is less than a predetermined threshold, determining that an image frame to be extracted is in the image frame buffer module and Initial time Corresponding image frames; if the length of time is not less than the predetermined threshold, determining that the image frame to be extracted includes from the image frame corresponding to the start time in the image frame buffer module to A plurality of image frames of an image frame corresponding to the end time.
5. The television program image frame capture device of claim 1 further comprising a signal decoding module configured to decode data of the television program and to buffer the decoded data in the image frame buffer module in the form of an image frame.
6. The television program image frame capture device of claim 1, wherein the communication module is further configured to broadcast information identifying the television program image frame capture device when the television program image frame capture device is powered on.
7. The television program image frame capture device of claim 1, wherein the communication module is further configured to, when receiving a search request from the external device, feed back the television program image frame capture device to the external device Information.
8. The television program image frame capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said request for said captured image frame received by said communication module from said external device further comprises information indicating said television program image frame capturing device.
9. A television program image frame capture system comprising:

   A television program image frame capture device according to any one of claims 1-8;

   An external device configured to transmit a request to capture the image frame to the television program image frame capture device, the request including information indicating a request transmission time.
10. A television program image frame acquiring device includes:

    a user interface module configured to receive an image frame acquisition request input by the user, and determine a time when the image frame acquisition request is received;

    a time calibration module configured to determine an image to be captured on the television program player based on a time difference between the television program image frame acquisition device and the television program player and a time at which the image frame acquisition request is received The time of the frame;

    A communication module configured to send a request to the television program player to capture an image frame, the request including information indicating a time of the determined image frame to be captured.
11. A television program image frame acquiring apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said time alignment module is further configured to perform a calibration process with said television program player to determine said television program image frame obtaining device and said television program The time difference between the players.
12. The television program image frame acquiring apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said calibration process comprises:

    The television program image acquisition device to send a message frame to the TV program player, said message comprising a time stamp indication message sending time T _1,

    The television program player adds a timestamp T ₂ to the message upon receiving the message,

    The TV program player timestamp T ₃ when the apparatus a feedback frame acquiring the message to the television program image,

    The television program image frame acquiring device adds a time stamp T ₄ when receiving the feedback message,

    The time calibration module determines that the time difference between the television program image frame acquiring device and the television program player is ((T ₂ -T ₁ )+(T ₃ -T ₄ ))/2.
13. The television program image frame acquiring apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said user interface module is further configured to: determine a start time and an end time of an image frame acquisition request input by the user as the image frame acquisition request is received time.
14. The television program image frame acquiring apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said communication module is further configured to receive information identifying said television program player from at least one television program player.
15. The television program image frame acquiring apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said information identifying said television program player is received in response to said communication module broadcasting a search request.
16. A television program image frame acquiring apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, wherein said request for capturing an image frame further comprises information indicating a television program player as a capturing target.
17. A television program image frame capture system comprising:

    A television program image frame acquiring apparatus according to any one of claims 10-16;

    TV show player, including:

    An image frame buffer module configured to buffer a plurality of image frames of a television program;

    a communication module configured to receive a request to capture an image frame from the television program image frame acquisition device, the request including information indicating a time of an image frame to be captured;

    as well as

    An image frame extraction module configured to extract an image frame corresponding to a time of an image frame to be captured from the image frame buffer module;

    The communication module of the television program player transmits the extracted image frame to the television program image frame acquisition device.
18. A method performed in a television program image frame capture device, comprising:

    Cache multiple image frames of a television program;

    Receiving a request to capture an image frame from an external device, the request including information indicating a time of request to send;

    Determining a time of an image frame to be extracted according to a time difference between the television program image frame capturing device and the external device and information indicating a request transmission time included in the request;

    An image frame corresponding to the determined time of the image frame to be extracted is extracted from the buffered plurality of image frames.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

    A calibration process is performed with the external device to determine a time difference between the television program image frame capture device and the external device.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein said calibrating process comprises:

    The frame image capturing apparatus television program sending a message to the external device, the message comprising a time stamp indication message sending time T _1,

    The external device adds a timestamp T ₂ to the message when receiving the message,

    The external device when the timestamp T ₃ of the apparatus a feedback message to capture an image frame of the television program,

    The television program image frame capture device adds a timestamp T ₄ when receiving the feedback message,

    The time difference between the television program image frame capturing device and the external device is determined as ((T ₂ -T ₁ )+(T ₃ -T ₄ ))/2.
21. The method of claim 18, wherein the determined time comprises a start time and an end time, and the method further comprises: determining a difference between the start time and the end time as an image frame to be extracted a length of time, if the length of time is less than a predetermined threshold, determining that the image frame to be extracted is an image frame corresponding to the start time; Determining that the length of time is not less than the predetermined threshold, determining that the image frame to be extracted includes a plurality of image frames corresponding to the start time in the buffered image frame to an image frame corresponding to the end time Image frame.
22. The method of claim 18, further comprising: decoding the data of the television program and buffering the decoded data in the form of an image frame.
23. The method of claim 18, further comprising broadcasting information identifying the television program image frame capture device when the television program image frame capture device is powered on.
24. The method of claim 18, further comprising: feeding back information identifying the television program image frame capture device to the external device upon receiving a search request from the external device.
25. The method of claim 18, wherein the request to capture the image frame received from the external device further comprises information indicative of the television program image frame capture device.
26. A method performed in a television program image frame acquiring device, comprising:

    Receiving an image frame acquisition request input by the user, determining a time when the image frame acquisition request is received;

    Determining a time of an image frame to be captured on the television program player according to a time difference between the television program image frame acquiring device and the television program player and a time when the image frame acquisition request is received;

    A request to capture an image frame is transmitted to the television program player, the request including information indicating a time of the determined image frame to be captured.
27. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

    A calibration process is performed with the television program player to determine a time difference between the television program image frame acquisition device and the television program player.
28. The method of claim 27 wherein said calibrating process comprises:

    The television program image acquisition device to send a message frame to the TV program player, said message comprising a time stamp indication message sending time T _1,

    The television program player adds a timestamp T ₂ to the message upon receiving the message,

    The TV program player timestamp T ₃ when the apparatus a feedback frame acquiring the message to the television program image,

    The television program image frame acquiring device adds a time stamp T ₄ when receiving the feedback message,

    The time difference between the television program image frame acquiring device and the television program player is determined as ((T ₂ -T ₁ )+(T ₃ -T ₄ ))/2.
29. The method of claim 26, wherein determining the time at which the image frame acquisition request is received further comprises:

    The start time and end time of the image frame acquisition request input by the user are determined as the time at which the image frame acquisition request is received.
30. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

    Information identifying the television program player is received from at least one television program player.
31. The method of claim 30 wherein said information identifying said television program player is received in response to said communication module broadcasting a search request.
32. A method according to claim 30 or 31, wherein said request to capture an image frame further comprises information indicative of a television program player as a target.

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